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Post by Awesoman on Jul 7, 2023 9:07:40 GMT -5
So how do we feel about Carl's second attempt at a solo career? It would seem that the general consensus is that this was a stronger effort than his eponymous debut album. That may be true but for me personally there's nothing really on here that is remarkable enough to sustain Carl's solo career. In fact I don't even believe any of the songs on here are as good as "Heaven" from his first album. It's a better produced album than the first but it ultimately sounds like every other pop/rock album from the early 80's and therefore sounds immediately lost in that shuffle. His cover of Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over The World" isn't bad and his lead single "What You Do To Me" is kind of fun. But I can't say there's much else on here that I ever care to listen to. A shame, actually.
If any of the Beach Boys were primed to have a solo career take off for them commercially, it should have been Carl. His voice was perfectly suited for the radio especially during the 80's. He just didn't have strong enough material and probably didn't collaborate with the right folks to really get his solo career going. As vanilla as David Foster could be as a producer and a songwriter, he at least knew how to get a song on the radio and even revived the band Chicago's sagging career. I wonder how a collaboration between him and Carl would have fared...
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Post by AGD on Jul 7, 2023 13:29:18 GMT -5
I really liked "Givin' You Up" and "Of The Times". Otherwise...
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Jul 7, 2023 19:23:14 GMT -5
Overall, I much prefer it to the first one. Favorites are Of The Times and She’s Mine. Of The Times should have been a Beach Boys song.
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Post by Rick Bartlett on Jul 8, 2023 1:13:28 GMT -5
I like it enough indeed.
Much like the first album, it's 'missing' something....?......
I don't know whether Carl was trying too hard to make a great record or that is just simply didn't hit the mark.
What I do like about both albums, they are not swamped all over the media, in other words,
I have the choice to listen to either of his solo albums when I choose, because you never hear his work anywhere on radio or movies.
They are kind of little nuggets to go back to when you want something fresh for your ears, and then at the end,
your kinda glad you don't listen to them all the time.
It's kind or ironic, for a guy so important to The Beach Boys sound, and has this amazing voice, never wrote or recorded 'great' solo recordings.
Dennis on the other hand, just blew it out of the water! (Arguably) presenting the best solo album even over Brian!
Maybe Carl lacked a great Producer?
Personally, I think the material is very good, a couple songs I'm not fond of, but overall, a neat collection of tunes, so I don't see that the problem.
Can't put my finger on it...
To me, the best Carl solo recordings are from his live sets at the time from 'Bottomline' and the 'My Father's Place'.
The band and Carl have the vibe and are Rockin'...... Something the 'Youngblood' album doesn't really do.
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Post by AGD on Jul 8, 2023 4:07:36 GMT -5
I think... I think we all - myself included - expected way too much of Carl's solo releases, and in hindsight that was based on very slim evidence. No question that the vocal goods would be delivered - this was Carl Wilson, FFS - but on the compositional front... well... Long Promised Road Feel Fows The Trader Full Sail
Angel Come Home Goin' South
Keepin' The Summer Alive
Livin' With A Heartache.
Eight (released) songs in nine years and after the initial mini-burst, the quality was, to be polite, spotty. That said, the blandness we got was hugely disappointing.
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Post by E on Jul 8, 2023 4:28:27 GMT -5
Much prefer the first. Take away the quality of his voice and this could be anybody
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Post by jk on Jul 8, 2023 5:26:46 GMT -5
Much prefer the first. Take away the quality of his voice and this could be anybody Me too, if you ignore that dreadful sax on the album closer. Even the impressive lineup of musicians on Youngblood can't salvage it from mediocrity in my view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youngblood_(Carl_Wilson_album) |
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Post by E on Jul 8, 2023 5:57:28 GMT -5
Much prefer the first. Take away the quality of his voice and this could be anybody Me too, if you ignore that dreadful sax on the album closer. Even the impressive lineup of musicians on Youngblood can't salvage it from mediocrity in my view. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youngblood_(Carl_Wilson_album)I'd be happier without Seems So Long Ago, The Grammy and The Right Lane |
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Jul 8, 2023 6:58:10 GMT -5
My biggest issue with both albums is that they sound sterile. Way too clean for rock and roll albums.
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Post by Awesoman on Jul 8, 2023 13:06:46 GMT -5
My biggest issue with both albums is that they sound sterile. Way too clean for rock and roll albums. Agreed. The production on the first album was lightweight. It was better on his second album but still quite bland overall. |
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Post by boogieboarder on Jul 8, 2023 14:01:44 GMT -5
A great singer needs great songs, and these ain’t them.
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 27, 2023 14:44:01 GMT -5
Oh well; you can't please everyone so you got to please yourself.
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Post by Awesoman on Mar 5, 2024 8:15:21 GMT -5
Supposedly Carl and Peter Cetera briefly entertained the idea of starting a band around the time these albums came out...? Not certain of the validity of that claim but I would have been quite interested in what they could have collaborated on together even if it veered straight towards adult contemporary hell.
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